Without Future
by Dromso
Summary: The story of Ellis and his buddies. What will happen when the world has gone to hell?
1. Chapter 1: The Mall

**Left 4 Dead fanfic**

**The story of Ellis and Zoey, maybe little of Nick and Rochelle ;) (All character belongs to Valve!)**

**I'm from Finland and this is my first fanfic. So ****please be gentle whit me! 3 This is my first writing on English too... I'd like to thank my friend's Donke and Joel for helping me to write this thing right! **

It was so dark. He listen his footsteps which echoed gloomily in the empty hall. Every single step made young man's heart skip a beat with fear. Was that noise from the thing that dribbles and screams that thing which was a human once? No, no it wasn't. It was only his mind that made tricks. He was so nervous! That young man was so confused how hard it was to get used to the dark, corpses, blood and those screaming lingering noises. It has been a month, hasn't it? Only a month? Only that long? Man stopped and touched his sweaty forehead. He took his blue and white cap from his head and ran his fingers across his dark brown hair. He sighed loudly and bent his sore, tired back.

- Hey overalls! Everything ok? Man with white suit asked, little bit too loudly.

- Mah back's li'l so'e, nothin' moe. Young man answered. He didn't like Nick's habit to call him "overalls". It just sounded weird. It only lowered his self-esteem, which wasn't that much to begin with. He only ignored Nick's tries to irritate him.

- Ellis, try to keep up. Chubby man said and brotherly tapped young man's back.

Ellis looked that dark-skinned man with a smile how was over two feet taller than him. They called him Coach. He was very nice guy whose only weakness was chocolate.

Coach walked further the dark hallway carrying his assault rifle with firm grip. Nick was at the point, as always and Rochelle, the fourth of their party, walked pass Ellis whit smile on her face. Young man watched them a while. He was so happy that he had found so good friends after the world decided to go to hell. Young man was sure that he would have died a thousand times without those three. Right now he would be walking there without a soul, blood coming out of his mouth only desiring flesh. Ellis shook his head. He tried to forget that image him being a zombie. It was most terrifying thing that he could ever experience! Ellis proceeded to continue his journey in his friend's footsteps.

It was so quiet. They had killed only a few zombies since they had entered the mall.

- Thunk thar´d haf been mo'e of them. Ellis said when he stroked one of those things down with his axe. He wiped most of the blood from his blade to zombie's shirt which once was white.

- I thought so too. I got a bad feeling about this. Rochelle said and touched her neck. – Let's be extra careful. She continued and walked further in the hallway.

They eyed shops display windows. Most of the windows were broke and inside of the shops were just a mess. They didn't dare to enter any of those shops. They didn't want to bump into a zombie horde or a witch! And that's why they didn't use their guns. "It's better to avoid any unnecessary noises." Nick had said when they entered to the mall.

Ellis eyed those windows and stopped.

- 'Ey guys! He suddenly shouted and walked front of one of those shops. – Coach! Found ya a chocolate bar! He said with a smile.

Rochelle turned to Ellis. She wanted to say that he kept too much of a noise but she didn't make it in time. Ellis was already at the shop door. Woman panicked.

- Ellis! Don't open that door! She screamed but it was too late.

The security system of the shop rang in the hallways. Ellis startled and instantly closed his eyes when he realized his mistake. He looked his brothers in arms and utter to nervous laugh.

- Oopsie…

- God dam it, boy. Coach sighed.

Then they heard it - that dreadful noise of the infected. Screams and shouts of that horde kept coming closer and closer. They even heard shouts of a charger! Nick slapped his face with his hand and growled. He took his rifle from his back and loaded it.

- Ellis, if we survive I'm definitely gonna kill your ass! Nick shouted and pushed young mechanic to the chest.

Ellis loaded his shotgun and mumbled that he was sorry. They started running down the hallway towards green exit – sign. When they arrived to the staircase they noticed that the way down was blocked. Nick cursed and started to climb upwards, Ellis right behind him. They arrived to the next floor and heard how the infected shattered the door below them.

- They are right on our asses! Move! Coach yelled and pushed Rochelle onwards.

They exited from the staircase and ran through the hallway, killing zombies that dared to come their way. Nick stopped. There was just too many infected in front of them. He turned around and looked back to the staircase. Those disgusting things were running towards them with large group. Nick cursed. Then he saw it – the way to salvation!

- Hey, to the bridge! Nick shouted and pointed classy bridge that was made off glass and wood. It combined the two opposite floors of the mall.

That mall had once been nice and joyful place with beautiful lights. Now it was only a memory. Now it was full of fear and death! Nick didn't wait for his friends to answer; he just ran through the zombie horde towards the bridge. He heard shots right behind him so he knew that his friend were still there and following him. They arrived to the bridge and then they heard the charger. Nick saw that big and clumsy mass running on to the bridge right in front of them from the opposite floor. It blocked their way. Nick cursed and fired his magazine empty to chargers chest. However it didn't stop it. Nick cursed again and tried hastily to reload his gun.

- Put yer head down Nick! He heard Ellis shout and felt hand that pushed him aside.

Ellis pace right pass Nick and fired his shotgun towards the charger. That clumsy mass slowed down but not enough. Charger flop and then it fell aside breaking the glassy railing shoving Ellis over the edge with it.

- Ellis! Nick screamed and flung over to reach him. He grasp young man's wrist and with other hand into the bridge railing that was still intact.

Ellis looked down and saw his blue and white cap falling towards the darkness were the charger had just disappeared. He raised his head and gaze the man who was desperately trying to hold and lift him up whit his one hand. Man cried for help but Coach and Rochelle were so busy to keep the infected away from the scene. Ellis saw how those things without a soul came from every corner towards the bridge. There just wasn't any end of them. Ellis turned his gaze back to Nick whose face looked so desperate. When did he saw that expression on Nick's face before? Ellis felt how Nick's grip slipped from his wrist. He felt how his stomach hurt when he fell into the darkness. He heard Nick was screaming his name. He… He didn't feel anything anymore.


	2. Chapter 2: Nick's guilt

**And here is part 2! I know its a little short but I think that short stories are better! :D**

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Nick was staring in to the darkness. His hand was reached out like hoping that Ellis would rose up and grasp it. He was breathing deeply trying to slow down his heart and mind. The impossible had happened. Ellis was…

Nick rose to his knees, eyes still watching that place where he saw mechanic last. The sounds of infected were gone. Rochelle and Coach had made an excellent job. Those disgusting bodies were piled up in front of them to the bridge.

- Hell, what a mess! Coach sighed and loaded his gun. He turned and saw conman on his knees face emotionless. – Nick? Everything ok? He asked. – Where's Ellis?

Nick didn't answer. He only gazed his friends who were so worried about his expression. Nick shook his head and stood up. He cleaned his hands from dust and glass. Rochelle was starting to worry a lot. Nick's expression told everything that she didn't want to hear; that something had happened. She didn't want to believe it.

- Nick?! Rochelle growled. Her hands were shaking.

- He fell… Ellis fell! Okay?! Nick shouted. His eyes were filled with anger. His voice echoed in the dark blaming everyone who heard it.

Coach and Rochelle stared that white suited man quietly. They eyed that shattered railing and then again white suited man. Coach swallowed loudly. His throat was dry.

- What…? Rochelle whispered and her eyes filled with tears. She leaned against the railing and shouted mechanics name. Her voice echoed from the walls and it shred apart their souls.

They heard again those cries of infected from below them, from the stairs and hallways. Coach grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her with him.

- We can't leave Ellis! Rochelle yelled and grasp the railing.

- We have to go Rochelle! Coach asked as nicely as he could. Woman didn't budge. She was just screaming the name of his dead friend. Nick paced with rage towards hysteric woman and grabbed her purple shirt.

- Ellis is gone! Do you get it? Gone! He fell from the fifth floor for Christ sake! That boy is dead! Nick shouted and shook woman's shoulders. They looked each other. Rochelle's grief made Nick's anger fade. Nick loosened his grip and sighed. He took his pistol and loaded it. – Let's go! He said and proceeded over to the other side.

Coach took Rochelle's hand to his own and pulled her gently with him. Woman was sobbing and dried her eyes so she could see at least something.

They were running across the hallway in silence, cries of infected far behind them. They reached the escalades and they went down to the next level. They continued through the hallway killing a zombie that was wobbling towards them. Nick was puffing and wiped sweat away from his eyes. He was going towards the area of the mall that was still under construction. He lifted a blue tarp that was on their way.

- In here! He said briefly. Coach and Rochelle bent down and crawled under the tarp Nick right behind them. He put the tarp back to its place cautiously.

Nick stood up and swept most of the dirt off his trousers, only it didn't make any difference; the suit was already so dirty of blood and mud. The swipe was only a habit. He sighed and walked beside his brothers in arms. They stared together those walls which paintjob had been left incomplete. Paint jug had fallen across the hallway. That mess had left behind footsteps that continued long way in the hallway.

- Hey! It's a safe house. Coach pointed end of the hallway where most of the paint tracks lead.

They all sighed from relieve and walked to the room. Nick closed the steel door, locked it with a steel rail and pulled the nearest table in front of it. He puffed and swiped his forehead. He looked his suit sleeve that once was white. Nick laughed sarcastically. He got now bigger problems; how to clean his suit from this shit. He turned around and saw furious looking lady in front of him. Rochelle stroked that man with her hand so hard that Nick stumbled towards the table.

- Ah – Ouch…! Nick mumbled and raised his hand to his lips. Warm blood colored his palm and made his saliva taste like iron.

- Why'd ya do that for? Coach asked and grabbed woman's hand. Rochelle drew his had away whit anger.

- Why did you drop Ellis? Why? Rochelle asked from Nick. Man was staring back at her with surprise with sealed lips.

- Rochelle… Coach started but the woman cut between.

- I knew that you didn't care about Ellis and you think that your own life is far more valuable than ours but still… How could you?! Rochelle screamed tears dropping down her face.

- Rochelle! That's enough! Coach shouted and turned the woman away from Nick. – It's not Nick's fault. Coach said and pet softly woman's back.

Nick stood there quietly and stared his friends. He felt pain on his chest. He swallowed; his throat felt so dry… So this is what guilt feels like. It had been long time since Nick had experienced that feeling before.

- It was my fault. Nick said quietly. Coach and Rochelle were staring at him with disbelief. – I should've hold out longer. Nick said and clenched his hands to fists. – That boy… He was so damn heavy… Nick mumbled and supported himself to the table.

Rochelle wiped his tears and walked towards the conman. He hugged man and pressed her face to his blue blouse. Woman started crying again. Nick wrapped his arms gently around Rochelle and fondled her head. Nick and Coach looked each other. The heavy feeling had taken over the atmosphere. Only one that had known how to lighten it up, was gone.


	3. Chapter 3: Alone

**And ****part 3!**

**Thanks again to my friend Donke for helping me with this chapter!**

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_Ellis ran through the street in city of Georgia. The people were screaming and attacking each other everywhere! Those monsters with their foaming mouths and bloody faces were shredding each other's flesh._

_ - Keith! Try to keep up! Ellis yelled to his friend who had same looking cap on his head than he does._

_Ellis stroke one of the bloody mouthed monster with his iron pipe, the one he had took with him from the garage. _

_- Sure thin' buddy! Keith puffed and followed his friend. _

"_I have to get to my mom's place!" Ellis yelled in his mind. He ran faster and faster. He saw his home's front door. He reached the door. He grabbed the handle and opened it. He saw his mother standing in front of him with bloody mouth._

_- Mom? Ellis asked quietly. Woman smiled with an insane expression on her face and attacked towards his son._

Ellis woke up with a shock. He breathed dust into his lungs from the floor and coughed it out. Again that same dream. How many times he was going to see his mother in front of him with that insane look? Never that dream again. Never ever! Never… He tried to stand up but he felt too much pain everywhere so he groaned and stayed down. He was looking his surroundings but didn't see a thing in the dark. His world was spinning. The only sound he heard was silent ringing from upper floor. Ellis remembered – he had opened that fucking door and caused all that shit, those zombies, everything! Were the others okay?

Ellis groaned and tried to stand up. He touched his aching head. His scull still felt like it was in one piece all though it felt like a broken shell. He managed to get on his knees and felt sting in his stomach. Young man whimpered and touched that aching place. He felt wet, warm and slippery liquid on his palm. He felt that something was sticking out from his stomach. Ellis moved to his knees and groaned loudly. He was watching in to the dark, scared as hell and tried to see if there was any wobbling figures but he saw nothing.

The pain in his stomach was starting to grow. Ellis looked his wound to see how bad it was. There were sticking something out and it looked like a wooden stick. Where did he get it from? Mechanic raised his gaze and saw some wood peaches, bags and jewelry all over the floor. He saw striped fabric further from him. He had fallen on to the stall. He had had luck! Ellis stared in to the sealing and saw the bridge where he had fell down. The bridge was empty except couple of zombies. What a fall! It was truly a blessing that he was still alive.

Ellis groaned again and moved his interest to the stick in his stomach. He grabbed it and tried to pull but the pain was too intensive. Ellis released his grip and hit the ground with his fist.

- Oh hell! He cursed. – Ya can do this Ellis… Ya can…! He encouraged himself.

Mechanic grabbed the stick, this time with both hands and he yanked. He was screaming with in pain and the stick flew out spreading blood everywhere. Ellis puffed and dropped the stick to the ground. Sweat from the pain was falling down his forehead. Ellis pressed his hand on to the wound to stop it from bleeding, even a little. Then he saw his blue and white cap on his side. Ellis picked it up with a smile; he swept the dust from it and put it on his head. He didn't want to separate from his cap, even if he died.

- Ah – Ouch…! Ellis whimpered and stood wobbling up. His head was aching and he was feeling sick, a concussion maybe? – Ouch, God damn it! Ellis mumbled.

He started to fumble forward. It was better to find safer place to wrap the wound than this large hall of the mall. Ellis fumbled forward, his hand shaking in front of him trying to feel his way. Then he stumbled into a blob and fell on top of it hitting his face to smelling slime. He had stumbled in to the charger's corpse that he had killed! Ellis stood up quickly and wiped that smelling slime off his face to his yellow shirt. He was gaging the smell and he fell onto his hands and knees. He vomited only a stomach acid; there were no food in his stomach.

- Aaaarrgghhh! Ellis shouted and pressed his wound.

He was lying there still, his body shaking, listening his surroundings. He didn't hear his friend's voices or saw light from their flashlights. They weren't coming to get him. How long he had lied on that ground…? Why they didn't come to get him?! They thought he was dead, didn't they? With that fall… of course they did! Ellis laughed with himself and he covered his eyes with his hand.

- An' I fear dark… Ellis laughed quietly. Young man gathered himself and stood up. – Almost lost mahse'f thar… Ellis mumbled with a smile.

He evaded the chargers corpse and continued his fumbling towards that hall's walls. He found one quickly. Mechanic stopped to listen - nothing. He continued his nervous walk following the wall with his hand. Gap emerged into the wall, a hallway and there was a sign "Staff Only". Ellis turned to the hallway and reached the door in the end of it. He tried the handle and the door opened with creaking. Ellis stopped to listen again. He didn't want any unnecessary attention – he didn't have a weapon!

Ellis continued forward and the door closed behind him with a loud noise. That sound made mechanic's heart skip a beat. The silence surrounded him. On the hallway were soda and candy machines. Their lights were illuminating spookily in the dark hallway. Those machines were intact which was very rare these days. Ellis stared those lights with his growling stomach and weighted his changes. If he could broke one he would get some food. If he broke one he would get some uninvited guests! Ellis swallowed his disappointment down his throat and walked pass the machines hand toughing their smooth surface. "I'll come back when ah foun' t'others…" He lied to himself.

Ellis arrived to a room that was full of desks and other office stuff. And then he heard it, crying… A witch! Ellis could feel his heart bounding faster and faster. He had to get out of there! Ellis moved beside the wall and started slowly walk forward his back touching wall's smooth surface. He saw a room in front of him which door was slightly open. Ellis breathed deeply and pushed his wound harder with his hand, moving slowly, trying to forget the pain. Crying came closer and closer. He saw that pale monster. The witch was sitting across the room couple meters from the door, crying and sobbing into her hands. Ellis was praying every single God that he knew in his mind and continued his gambling.

Couple meters left… There was a crowbar beside the door. Ellis thanked his fortune and reached towards that irony weapon, his eyes staring the back of that pale monster. It wasn't the greatest idea because there was a can beside the crowbar that clanged and the sound echoed in the room. Ellis closed his right eye and cursed. Witch was silent for a moment and then it turned towards mechanic. It bloody eyes were gazed towards horrified intruder.

- Oh shit! Shit, shit, shitshitshitshitshit! Mechanic yelled.

Ellis grabbed that doomsday crowbar and ran the last meters through the door. Witch was screaming and it jumped towards her nails pointing at Ellis. Mechanic pushed the door shut while that monster was clawing the wooden surface from the other side. Young man got the door locked and he pushed nearest shelf in front of it.

He sighed and laughed happily. Ellis turned around to see the room but just in time he stopped a zombie's head from trying to bite his face off. Ellis stumbled towards the shelf and held the zombie's face away from his with his hands. That nasty, dribbling, blood vomiting thing was biting air with his exposed teeth. Ellis put his leg between the two of them and kicked shouting that zombie away from him. He waved his new crowbar and hit it with force into attacker's face. Slime and brain parts flew across the room and that nasty thing made its last groan.

Ellis was breathing deeply and tried to calm down his heartbeat. He stared that corpse. It had a nice black suit on him. Maybe the guy that had owned this room? Ellis felt sorry for that office worker that never had a chance to say good bye to his loved ones. Mechanic knew too well how it felt.

Ellis looked around. There wasn't anybody else. He took his cap from his head and stroked his sweaty hair. That witch was still pounding and clawing the door's wooden surface. Ellis didn't have much time. He took a med kit from his back and lifted gently his yellow shirt. Ellis winced when he saw how bad that wound was. It hurt like hell. Mechanic wrapped bandage around him covering the wound. White bandage transformed into a scarlet red in seconds. Ellis tightened his strapping and yelled in pain. This should be enough. There wasn't time for anything else.

There was a big, broken window in the room and Ellis walked to it his back bent down. He was holding his stomach trying not to feel all that pain. That window was leading right to the main street! He looked to the left, right, up and down. It was still dark. There was only a few infected. He could get away. Maybe… But where? Where they were heading again? They had needed to find some supplies and a car and then get the fuck out from the city! A car…? Ellis stared the nearest cars that were left to the side of the road.

- C'd I git them move? Ellis thought and scratched his forehead.

When the door cracked mechanic didn't think anymore; he just jumped out of the window and crouched quietly across the road towards the cars. He picked a white Audi because there was no alarm on in it. He broke the window with a quick swing and opened the door. Ellis didn't care about the broken glass that was on the seat he just jumped on. He looked around – so far so good. Ellis laid himself down with a groan and pulled all the wiring below the steering wheel for him to see. This was just the thing that Ellis was so good at; not stealing cars but to know everything about them. In couple minutes, although his hands were shaking, he started the car and hit the pedal. He drove out of the city tires screaming with joy.

He drove on the highway, the wrong side of it because there were no cars on the way. Nobody wanted to go inside the city when that epidemic had started, only out of it. Ellis was staring that grey road. He was so worried of his friends. Where were they? Did they make it out of the city? Where did they go? His head was aching. Ellis looked himself from the mirror. Blood had stained the right side of his face. His eyes looked tired and beneath them were black circles. Ellis sighed and gazed back to the road. He felt how his world started to go darker. He had lost too much blood. Ellis stopped the car on the side of the road and rested himself towards the seat.

- I'll wait hyar, buddies… Ellis whispered.

He decided to trust his fate and that he would meet his friends again. In reality he was too sore and tired to care. Ellis let the darkness bury him.


End file.
